Network Working Group Internet Activities Board
Request for Comments: 1140 J. Postel, Editor
Obsoletes: RFCs 1130, May 1990
1100, 1083
IAB OFFICIAL PROTOCOL STANDARDS
Status of this Memo
This memo describes the state of standardization of protocols used in
the Internet as determined by the Internet Activities Board (IAB).
Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Table of Contents
IntrodUCtion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1. The Standardization Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. The Request for Comments Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Other Reference Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.1. Assigned Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2. Annotated Internet Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3. Gateway Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.4. Host Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.5. The MIL-STD Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. EXPlanation of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1. Definitions of Protocol State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.1.1. Standard Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.1.2. Draft Standard Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.1.3. Proposed Standard Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.1.4. Experimental Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.1.5. Historic Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2. Definitions of Protocol Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2.1. Required Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2.2. Recommended Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.2.3. Elective Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.2.4. Limited Use Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.2.5. Not Recommended Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5. The Standards Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.1. The RFCProcessing Decision Table . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.2. The Standards Track Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6. The Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.1. Recent Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.1.1. New RFCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.1.2. Other Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.2. Standard Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.3. Network-Specific Standard Protocols . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.4. Draft Standard Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6.5. Proposed Standard Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.6. Experimental Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6.7. Historic Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7. Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.1. IAB, IETF, and IRTF Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.1.1. Internet Activities Board (IAB) Contact . . . . . . . 23
7.1.2. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Contact . . . . 23
7.1.3. Internet Research Task Force (IETF) Contact . . . . . 24
7.2. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Contact . . . 24
7.3. Request for Comments Editor Contact . . . . . . . . . . 25
7.4. Network Information Center Contact . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7.5. Other Sources for Requests for Comments . . . . . . . . 26
7.5.1. NSF Network Service Center (NNSC) . . . . . . . . . . 26
7.5.2. NSF Network Information Service (NIS) . . . . . . . . 26
7.5.3. CSNET Coordination and Information Center (CIC) . . . 26
8. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
9. Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Introduction
Discussion of the standardization process and the RFCdocument series
is presented first, then the explanation of the terms is presented,
the lists of protocols in each stage of standardization follows and
finally come pointers to references and contacts for further
information.
This memo is issued quarterly, please be sure the copy you are
reading is dated within the last three months. Current copies may be
oBTained from the Network Information Center or from the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (see the contact information at the end of
this memo). Do not use this edition after 31-Aug-90.
See Section 6.1 for a description of recent changes.
1. The Standardization Process
The Internet Activities Board maintains this list of documents that
define standards for the Internet protocol suite (see RFC-1120 for an
explanation of the role and organization of the IAB and its
subsidiary groups, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the
Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)). The IAB provides these
standards with the goal of co-ordinating the evolution of the
Internet protocols; this co-ordination has become quite important as
the Internet protocols are increasingly in general commercial use.
The majority of Internet protocol development and standardization
activity takes place in the working groups of the Internet
Engineering Task Force.
Protocols which are to become standards in the Internet go through a
series of states (proposed standard, draft standard, and standard)
involving increasing amounts of scrutiny and experimental testing.
At each step, the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) of the
IETF must make a recommendation for advancement of the protocol and
the IAB must ratify it. If a recommendation is not ratified, the
protocol is remanded to the IETF for further work.
To allow time for the Internet community to consider and react to
standardization proposals, the IAB imposes a minimum delay of 4
months before a proposed standard can be advanced to a draft standard
and 6 months before a draft standard can be promoted to standard.
It is general IAB practice that no proposed standard can be promoted
to draft standard without at least two independent implementations
(and the recommendation of the IESG). Promotion from draft standard
to standard generally requires operational experience and
demonstrated interoperability of two or more implementations (and the
recommendation of the IESG).
In cases where there is uncertainty as to the proper decision
concerning a protocol the IAB may convene a special review committee
consisting of experts from the IETF, IRTF and the IAB with the
purpose of recommending an explicit action to the IAB.
Advancement of a protocol to proposed standard is an important step
since it marks a protocol as a candidate for eventual standardization
(it puts the protocol "on the standards track"). Advancement to
draft standard is a major step which warns the community that, unless
major objections are raised or flaws are discovered, the protocol is
likely to be advanced to standard in six months.
Some protocols have been superseded by better ones or are otherwise
unused. Such protocols are still documented in this memorandum with
the designation "historic".
Because the IAB believes it is useful to document the results of
early protocol research and development work, some of the RFCs
document protocols which are still in an experimental condition. The
protocols are designated "experimental" in this memorandum. They
appear in this report as a convenience to the community and not as
evidence of their standardization.
In addition to the working groups of the IETF, protocol development
and experimentation may take place as a result of the work of the
research groups of the Internet Research Task Force, or the work of
other individuals interested in Internet protocol development. The
IAB encourages the documentation of such experimental work in the RFC
series, but none of this work is considered to be on the track for
standardization until the IESG has made a recommendation to advance
the protocol to the proposed standard state, and the IAB has approved
this step.
A few protocols have achieved widespread implementation without the
approval of the IESG and the IAB. For example, some vendor protocols
have become very important to the Internet community even though they
have not been recommended by the IESG or ratified by the IAB.
However, the IAB strongly recommends that the IAB standards process
be used in the evolution of the protocol suite to maximize
interoperability (and to prevent incompatible protocol requirements
from arising). The IAB reserves the use of the terms "standard",
"draft standard", and "proposed standard" in any RFCor other
publication of Internet protocols to only those protocols which the
IAB has approved.
In addition to a state (like "proposed standard") a protocol is also
assigned a status, or requirement level. A protocol can be required,
meaning that all systems in the Internet must implement it. For
example, the Internet Protocol (IP) is required. A protocol may be
recommended, meaning that systems should implement this protocol. A
protocol may be elective, meaning that systems may implement this
protocol; that is, if (and only if) the functionality of this
protocol is needed or useful for a system it must use this protocol
to provide the functionality. A protocol may be termed limited use
or even not recommended if it is not intended to be generally
implemented; for example, experimental or historic protocols.
When a protocol is on the standards track, that is in the proposed
standard, draft standard, or standard state (see Section 5), the
status is the current status. However, the IAB will also endeavor to
indicate the eventual status this protocol will have when the
standardization is completed.
The IAB realizes that a one Word label is not sufficient to
characterize the implementation requirements for a protocol in all
situations. In many cases, an additional paragraph about the status
will be provided, and in some cases reference will be made to
separate requirements documents.
Few protocols are required to be implemented in all systems. This is
because there is such a variety of possible systems; for example,
gateways, terminal servers, workstations, multi-user hosts. It is
not necessary for a gateway to implement TCP or the protocols that
use TCP (though it may be useful). It is expected that general
purpose hosts will implement at least IP (including ICMP and IGMP),
TCP and UDP, Telnet, FTP, NTP, SMTP, Mail, and the Domain Name System
(DNS).
2. The Request for Comments Documents
The documents called Request for Comments (or RFCs) are the working
notes of the "Network Working Group", that is the Internet research
and development community. A document in this series may be on
essentially any topic related to computer communication, and may be
anything from a meeting report to the specification of a standard.
Notice:
All standards are published as RFCs, but not all RFCs specify
standards.
Anyone can submit a document for publication as an RFC. Submissions
must be made via electronic mail to the RFCEditor (see the contact
information at the end of this memo).
While RFCs are not refereed publications, they do receive technical
review from the task forces, individual technical experts, or the RFC
Editor, as appropriate.
The RFCseries comprises a wide range of documents such as
informational documents of general interests to specifications of
standard Internet protocols. In cases where submission is intended
to document a proposed standard, draft standard, or standard
protocol, the RFCEditor will publish the document only with the
approval of both the IESG and the IAB. For documents describing
experimental work, the RFCEditor will typically request review
comments from the relevant IETF working group or IRTF research group
and provide those comments to the author prior to committing to
publication. See Section 5.1 for more detail.
Once a document is assigned an RFCnumber and published, that RFCis
never revised or re-issued with the same number. There is never a
question of having the most recent version of a particular RFC.
However, a protocol (such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP)) may be
improved and re-documented many times in several different RFCs. It
is important to verify that you have the most recent RFCon a
particular protocol. This "IAB Official Protocol Standards" memo is
the reference for determining the correct RFCto refer to for the
current specification of each protocol.
The RFCs are available from the Network Information Center at SRI
International, and a number of other sites. For more information
about obtaining RFCs, see Sections 7.4 and 7.5.
3. Other Reference Documents
There are four other reference documents of interest in checking the
current status of protocol specifications and standardization. These
are the Assigned Numbers, the Annotated Internet Protocols, the
Gateway Requirements, and the Host Requirements. Note that these
documents are revised and updated at different times; in case of
differences between these documents, the most recent must prevail.
Also, one should be aware of the MIL-STD publications on IP, TCP,
Telnet, FTP, and SMTP. These are described in Section 3.5.
3.1. Assigned Numbers
This document lists the assigned values of the parameters used in the
various protocols. For example, IP protocol codes, TCP port numbers,
Telnet Option Codes, ARP hardware types, and Terminal Type names.
Assigned Numbers was most recently issued as RFC-1060.
Another document, Internet Numbers, lists the assigned IP network
numbers, and the autonomous system numbers. Internet Numbers was
most recently issued as RFC-1117.
3.2. Annotated Internet Protocols
This document lists the protocols and describes any known problems
and ongoing experiments. This document was most recently issued as
RFC-1011 under the title "Official Internet Protocols".
3.3. Gateway Requirements
This document reviews the specifications that apply to gateways and
supplies guidance and clarification for any ambiguities. Gateway
Requirements is RFC-1009. A working group of the IETF is actively
preparing a revision.
3.4. Host Requirements
This pair of documents reviews the specifications that apply to hosts
and supplies guidance and clarification for any ambiguities. Host
Requirements was recently issued as RFC-1122 and RFC-1123.
3.5. The MIL-STD Documents
The Internet community specifications for IP (RFC-791) and TCP (RFC-
793) and the DoD MIL-STD specifications are intended to describe
exactly the same protocols. Any difference in the protocols
specified by these sets of documents should be reported to DCA and to
the IAB. The RFCs and the MIL-STDs for IP and TCP differ in style
and level of detail. It is strongly advised that the two sets of
documents be used together.
The IAB and the DoD MIL-STD specifications for the FTP, SMTP, and
Telnet protocols are essentially the same documents (RFCs 765, 821,
854). The MIL-STD versions have been edited slightly. Note that the
current Internet specification for FTP is RFC-959.
Internet Protocol (IP) MIL-STD-1777
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) MIL-STD-1778
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) MIL-STD-1780
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) MIL-STD-1781
Telnet Protocol and Options (TELNET) MIL-STD-1782
These documents are available from the Naval Publications and Forms
Center. Requests can be initiated by telephone, telegraph, or mail;
however, it is preferred that private industry use form DD1425, if
possible. These five documents are included in the 1985 DDN Protocol
Handbook (available from the Network Information Center, see Section
7.4).
Naval Publications and Forms Center, Code 3015
5801 Tabor Ave
PhilaDelphia, PA 19120
Phone: 1-215-697-3321 (order tape)
1-215-697-4834 (conversation)
4. Explanation of Terms
There are two independent categorization of protocols. The first is
the STATE of standardization which is one of "standard", "draft
standard", "proposed standard", "experimental", or "historic". The
second is the STATUS of this protocol which is one of "required",
"recommended", "elective", "limited use", or "not recommended".
The IAB notes that the status or requirement level is difficult to
portray in a one word label. These status labels should be
considered only as an indication, and a further description should be
consulted.
When a protocol is advanced to proposed standard or draft standard,
it is labeled with a current status and when possible, the IAB also
notes the status that that protocol is expected to have when it
reaches the standard state.
At any given time a protocol is a cell of the following matrix.
Protocols are likely to be in cells in about the following
proportions (indicated by the relative number of Xs). A new protocol
is most likely to start in the (proposed standard, elective) cell, or
the (experimental, not recommended) cell.
S T A T U S
Req Rec Ele Lim Not
S +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Std X XXX XXX
T +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Draft X X XXX
A +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Prop X XXX X
T +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Expr X XXX X
E +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Hist X XXX
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
What is a "system"?
Some protocols are particular to hosts and some to gateways; a few
protocols are used in both. The definitions of the terms below
will refer to a "system" which is either a host or a gateway (or
both). It should be clear from the context of the particular
protocol which types of systems are intended.
4.1. Definitions of Protocol State
There are two independent categorizations of protocols. The first is
the STATE of standardization, which is one of "standard", "draft
standard", "proposed standard", "experimental", or "historic".
4.1.1. Standard Protocol
The IAB has established this as an official standard protocol for
the Internet. These are separated into two groups: (1) IP
protocol and above, protocols that apply to the whole Internet;
and (2) network-specific protocols, generally specifications of
how to do IP on particular types of networks.
4.1.2. Draft Standard Protocol
The IAB is actively considering this protocol as a possible
Standard Protocol. Substantial and widespread testing and comment
are desired. Comments and test results should be submitted to the
IAB. There is a possibility that changes will be made in a Draft
Standard Protocol before it becomes a Standard Protocol.
4.1.3. Proposed Standard Protocol
These are protocol proposals that may be considered by the IAB for
standardization in the future. Implementation and testing by
several groups is desirable. Revision of the protocol
specification is likely.
4.1.4. Experimental Protocol
A system should not implement an experimental protocol unless it
is participating in the experiment and has coordinated its use of
the protocol with the developer of the protocol.
Typically, experimental protocols are those that are developed as
part of an ongoing research project not related to an operational
service offering. While they may be proposed as a service
protocol at a later stage, and thus become proposed standard,
draft standard, and then standard protocols, the designation of a
protocol as experimental may sometimes be meant to suggest that
the protocol, although perhaps mature, is not intended for
operational use.
4.1.5. Historic Protocol
These are protocols that are unlikely to ever become standards in
the Internet either because they have been superseded by later
developments or due to lack of interest.
4.2. Definitions of Protocol Status
There are two independent categorizations of protocols. The
second is the STATUS of this protocol which is one of "required",
"recommended", "elective", "limited use", or "not recommended".
4.2.1. Required Protocol
A system must implement the required protocols.
4.2.2. Recommended Protocol
A system should implement the recommended protocols.
4.2.3. Elective Protocol
A system may or may not implement an elective protocol. The
general notion is that if you are going to do something like this,
you must do exactly this. There may be several elective protocols
in a general area, for example, there are several electronic mail
protocols, and several routing protocols.
4.2.4. Limited Use Protocol
These protocols are for use in limited circumstances. This may be
because of their experimental state, specialized nature, limited
functionality, or historic state.
4.2.5. Not Recommended Protocol
These protocols are not recommended for general use. This may be
because of their limited functionality, specialized nature, or
experimental or historic state.
5. The Standards Track
This section discusses in more detail the procedures used by the RFC
Editor and the IAB in making decisions about the labeling and
publishing of protocols as standards.
5.1. The RFCProcessing Decision Table
Here is the current decision table for processing submissions by RFC
Editor. The processing depends on who submitted it, and the status
they want it to have.
+==========================================================+
++++++++++++++ S O U R C E
+==========================================================+
Desired IAB IESG IRSG Other
Status or RG
+==========================================================+
Full or Publish Vote Bogus Bogus
Draft (1) (3) (2) (2)
Standard
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
Publish Vote Refer Refer
Proposed (1) (3) (4) (4)
Standard
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
Publish Notify Notify Notify
Experimental (1) (5) (5) (5)
Protocol
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
Information Publish DiscretionDiscretionDiscretion
or Opinion (1) (6) (6) (6)
Paper
+==========================================================+
(1) Publish.
(2) Bogus. Inform the source of the rules. RFCs specifying
Standard, or Draft Standard must come from the IAB, only.
(3) Vote by the IAB. If approved then do Publish (1), else do
Refer (4).
(4) Refer to an Area Director for review by a WG. Expect to see
the document again only after approval by the IESG and the
IAB.
(5) Notify both the IESG and IRSG. If no protest in 1 week then
do Discretion (6), else do undefined.
(6) RFCEditor's discretion. The RFCEditor decides if a review
is needed and if so by whom. RFCEditor decides to publish or
not.
Of course, in all cases the RFCEditor can request or make minor
changes for style, format, and presentation purposes.
The IESG has designated Greg Vaudreuil as its agent for forwarding
documents with IESG approval and for registering protest in response
to notifications (5) to the RFCEditor. Documents from Area
Directors or Working Group Chairs may be considered in the same way
as documents from "other".
5.2. The Standards Track Diagram
There is a part of the STATUS and STATE categorization that is called
the standards track. Actually, only the changes of state are
significant to the progression along the standards track, though the
status assignments may be changed as well.
The states illustrated by single line boxes are temporary states,
those illustrated by double line boxes are long term states. A
protocol will normally be expected to remain in a temporary state for
several months (minimum four months for proposed standard, minimum
six months for draft standard). A protocol may be in a long term
state for many years.
A protocol may enter the standards track only on the recommendation
of the IESG and by action of the IAB; and may move from one state to
another along the track only on the recommendation of the IESG and by
action of the IAB. That is, it takes both the IESG and the IAB to
either start a protocol on the track or to move it along.
Generally, as the protocol enters the standards track a decision is
made as to the eventual STATUS (elective, recommended, or required)
the protocol will have, although a somewhat less stringent current
status may be assigned, and it then is placed in the the proposed
standard STATE with that status. So the initial placement of a
protocol is into state 1. At any time the STATUS decision may be
revisited.
+<----------------------------------------------+
^
V 0 4
+-----------+ +===========+
enter -->----------------+-------------->experiment
+-----------+ +=====+=====+
V 1
+-----------+ V
proposed -------------->+
+--->+-----+-----+
V 2
+<---+-----+-----+ V
draft std -------------->+
+--->+-----+-----+
V 3
+<---+=====+=====+ V
standard -------------->+
+=====+=====+
V 5
+=====+=====+
historic
+===========+
The transition from proposed standard (1) to draft standard (2) can
only be by action of the IAB on the recommendation of the IESG and
only after the protocol has been proposed standard (1) for at least
four months.
The transition from draft standard (2) to standard (3) can only be by
action of the IAB on the recommendation of the IESG and only after
the protocol has been draft standard (2) for at least six months.
Occasionally, the decision may be that the protocol is not ready for
standardization and will be assigned to the experimental state (4).
This is off the standards track, and the protocol may be resubmitted
to enter the standards track after further work. There are other
paths into the experimental and historic states that do not involve
IAB action.
Sometimes one protocol is replaced by another and thus becomes
historic, it may happen that a protocol on the standards track is in
a sense overtaken by another protocol (or other events) and becomes
historic (state 5).
6. The Protocols
This section lists the standards in groups by protocol state.
6.1. Recent Changes
6.1.1. New RFCs:
1157 - Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Advanced to Recommended Standard protocol. Replaces 1098.
1156 - Management Information Base (MIB)
Advanced to Recommended Standard protocol. Replaces 1066.
1155 - Structure of Management Information (SMI)
Advanced to Recommended Standard protocol. Replaces 1065.
1154 - Encoding Header Field for Internet Messages
This is a new Elective Experimental protocol.
1153 - Digest Message Format
This is a new Elective Experimental protocol.
1152 - Workshop Report: Internet Research Steering Group Workshop
on Very-High-Speed Networks
This is an information document and does not specify any
level of standard.
1151 - Version 2 of the Reliable Data Protocol (RDP)
This is an update to a Not-recommended Experimental
protocol.
1150 - FYI on FYI
This is an information document and does not specify any
level of standard.
1149 - A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian
Carriers
This describes an implementation technique, and does not
specify any level of standard.
1148 - Mapping between X.400(88) and RFC822
This is a new Elective Experimental protocol (corrects
editing errors in 1138).
1147 - FYI on a Network Management Tool Catalog
This is an information document and does not specify any
level of standard.
1146 - TCP Alternative Checksum Options
This is a new Not-recommended Experimental protocol
(corrects editing errors in 1145).
1145 - TCP Alternate Checksum Options
This is a new Not-recommended Experimental protocol.
1144 - Compressing TCP/IP Headers for Low-Speed Serial Links
This is a new Elective Proposed Standard protocol.
1143 - The Q Method of Implementing TELNET Option Negotiation
This describes an implementation technique.
1142 - < not issued yet >
1141 - Incremental Updating of the Internet Checksum
This describes an implementation technique.
1140 - IAB Official Protocol Standards
This memo.
1139 - An Echo Function for ISO 8473
This is a new Elective Proposed Standard protocol.
1138 - Mapping between X.400(88) and RFC822
This is a new Elective Experimental protocol (replaced by
1148).
1137 - Mapping Between Full RFC822 and RFC822 with Restricted
Encoding
This is a new Elective Experimental protocol.
1136 - Administrative Domains and Routing Domains: A Model for
Routing in the Internet
This is a discussion document and does not specify any
level of standard.
1135 - The Helminthiasis of the Internet
This is a discussion document and does not specify any
level of standard.
1134 - The Point-to-Point Protocol: A Proposal for Multi-Protocol
Transmission of Datagrams Over Point-to-Point Links
This is a new Elective Proposed Standard protocol.
1133 - Routing between the NSFNET and the DDN
This is a discussion document and does not specify any
level of standard.
1132 - A Standard for the Transmission of 802.2 Packets over IPX
Networks
This is a new Elective Network-Specific Standard protocol,
that is, a full Standard for a network-specific situation.
1131 - The OSPF Specification
This is a new Elective Proposed Standard protocol.
1060 - Assigned Numbers
The status report on assigned numbers and protocol
parameters.
6.1.2. Other Changes:
The following are changes to protocols listed in the previous
edition.
1058 - Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
Advanced to Elective Draft Standard protocol.
1045 - Versatile Message Transaction Protocol (VMTP)
Moved to Elective Experimental protocol.
1006 - ISO Transport Service on top of the TCP (TP-TCP)
Advanced to Elective Draft Standard protocol.
996 - Statistics Server (STATSRV)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
954 - WhoIs Protocol (NICNAME)
Advanced to Elective Draft Standard protocol.
937 - Post Office Protocol, Version 2 (POP2)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
916 - Reliable Asynchronous Transfer Protocol (RATP)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
914 - Thinwire Protocol (THINWIRE)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
818 - Remote Telnet Service (RTELNET)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
569 - Network Standard Text Editor (NETED)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
407 - Remote Job Entry (RJE)
Moved to Not Recommended Historic protocol.
6.2. Standard Protocols
Protocol Name Status RFC
======== ===================================== ============== ====
-------- Assigned Numbers Required 1060
-------- Gateway Requirements Required 1009
-------- Host Requirements - Communications Required 1122
-------- Host Requirements - Applications Required 1123
IP Internet Protocol Required 791
as amended by:
-------- IP Subnet Extension Required 950
-------- IP Broadcast Datagrams Required 919
-------- IP Broadcast Datagrams with Subnets Required 922
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol Required 792
IGMP Internet Group Multicast Protocol Recommended 1112
UDP User Datagram Protocol Recommended 768
TCP Transmission Control Protocol Recommended 793
SMI Structure of Management Information Recommended 1155
MIB Management Information Base Recommended 1156
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol Recommended 1157
DOMAIN Domain Name System Recommended 1034,1035
TELNET Telnet Protocol Recommended 854
FTP File Transfer Protocol Recommended 959
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Recommended 821
MAIL Format of Electronic Mail Messages Recommended 822
CONTENT Content Type Header Field Recommended 1049
EGP Exterior Gateway Protocol Recommended 904
ECHO Echo Protocol Recommended 862
NTP Network Time Protocol Recommended 1119
NETBIOS NetBIOS Service Protocols Elective 1001,1002
DISCARD Discard Protocol Elective 863
CHARGEN Character Generator Protocol Elective 864
QUOTE Quote of the Day Protocol Elective 865
USERS Active Users Protocol Elective 866
DAYTIME Daytime Protocol Elective 867
TIME Time Server Protocol Elective 868
Notes:
IGMP -- The Internet Activities Board intends to move towards general
adoption of IP multicasting, as a more efficient solution than
broadcasting for many applications. The host interface has been
standardized in RFC-1112; however, multicast-routing gateways are in
the experimental stage and are not widely available. An Internet
host should support all of RFC-1112, except for the IGMP protocol
itself which is optional; see RFC-1122 for more details. Even
without IGMP, implementation of RFC-1112 will provide an important
advance: IP-layer Access to local network multicast addressing. It
is expected that IGMP will become recommended for all hosts and
gateways at some future date.
SMI, MIB, SNMP -- The Internet Activities Board recommends that all
IP and TCP implementations be network manageable. This implies
implementation of the Internet MIB (RFC-1156) and at least one of the
two recommended management protocols SNMP (RFC-1157) or CMOT (RFC-
1095). It should be noted that, at this time, SNMP is a full
Internet standard and CMOT is a draft standard. See also the Host
and Gateway Requirements RFCs for more specific information on the
applicability of this standard.
6.3. Network-Specific Standard Protocols
Protocol Name Status RFC
======== ===================================== =============== ====
ARP Address Resolution Protocol Elective 826
RARP A Reverse Address Resolution Protocol Elective 903
IP-ARPA Internet Protocol on ARPANET Elective BBN 1822
IP-WB Internet Protocol on Wideband Network Elective 907
IP-X25 Internet Protocol on X.25 Networks Elective 877
IP-E Internet Protocol on Ethernet Networks Elective 894
IP-EE Internet Protocol on Exp. Ethernet Nets Elective 895
IP-IEEE Internet Protocol on IEEE 802 Elective 1042
IP-DC Internet Protocol on DC Networks Elective 891
IP-HC Internet Protocol on Hyperchannel Elective 1044
IP-ARC Internet Protocol on ARCNET Elective 1051
IP-SLIP Transmission of IP over Serial Lines Elective 1055
IP-NETBIOS Transmission of IP over NETBIOS Elective 1088
IP-FDDI Transmission of IP over FDDI Elective 1103
IP-IPX Transmission of 802.2 over IPX Networks Elective 1132
Notes:
It is expected that a system will support one or more physical
networks and for each physical network supported the appropriate
protocols from the above list must be supported. That is, it is
elective to support any particular type of physical network, and for
the physical networks actually supported it is required that they be
supported exactly according to the protocols in the above list. See
also the Host and Gateway Requirements RFCs for more specific
information on network-specific ("link layer") protocols.
6.4. Draft Standard Protocols
Protocol Name Status RFC
======== ===================================== =============== ====
-------- Mail Privacy: Procedures Elective 1113
-------- Mail Privacy: Key Management Elective 1114
-------- Mail Privacy: Algorithms Elective 1115
CMOT Common Management Information Services Recommended 1095
and Protocol over TCP/IP
BOOTP Bootstrap Protocol Recommended 951,1048,1084
RIP Routing Information Protocol Elective 1058
TP-TCP ISO Transport Service on top of the TCP Elective 1006
NICNAME WhoIs Protocol Elective 954
TFTP Trivial File Transfer Protocol Elective 783
Notes:
CMOT -- The Internet Activities Board recommends that all IP and TCP
implementations be network manageable. This implies implementation
of the Internet MIB (RFC-1156) and at least one of the two
recommended management protocols SNMP (RFC-1157) or CMOT (RFC-1095).
It should be noted that, at this time, SNMP is a full Internet
standard and CMOT is a draft standard. See also the Host and Router
Requirements RFCs for more specific information on the applicability
of this standard.
RIP -- The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is widely implemented
and used in the Internet. However, both implementors and users
should be aware that RIP has some serious technical limitations as a
routing protocol. The IETF is currently developing several
candidates for a new standard "open" routing protocol with better
properties than RIP. The IAB urges the Internet community to track
these developments, and to implement the new protocol when it is
standardized; improved Internet service will result for many users.
TP-TCP -- As OSI protocols become more widely implemented and used,
there will be an increasing need to support interoperation with the
TCP/IP protocols. The Internet Engineering Task Force is formulating
strategies for interoperation. RFC-1006 provides one interoperation
mode, in which TCP/IP is used to emulate TP0 in order to support OSI
applications. Hosts that wish to run OSI connection-oriented
applications in this mode should use the procedure described in RFC-
1006. In the future, the IAB expects that a major portion of the
Internet will support both TCP/IP and OSI (inter-)network protocols
in parallel, and it will then be possible to run OSI applications
across the Internet using full OSI protocol "stacks".
6.5. Proposed Standard Protocols
Protocol Name Status RFC
======== ===================================== =============== ====
MIB-II MIB-II Elective xxxx
IP-CMPRS Compressing TCP/IP Headers Elective 1144
-------- Echo for ISO-8473 Elective 1139
PPP Point to Point Protocol Elective 1134
OSPF Open Shortest Path First Routing Elective 1131
SUN-NFS Network File System Protocol Elective 1094
POP3 Post Office Protocol, Version 3 Elective 1081,1082
SUN-RPC Remote Procedure Call Protocol Elective 1057
PCMAIL Pcmail Transport Protocol Elective 1056
NFILE A File Access Protocol Elective 1037
-------- Mapping between X.400(84) and RFC-822 Elective 987,1026
NNTP Network News Transfer Protocol Elective 977
HOSTNAME HOSTNAME Protocol Elective 953
SFTP Simple File Transfer Protocol Elective 913
RLP Resource Location Protocol Elective 887
FINGER Finger Protocol Elective 742
SUPDUP SUPDUP Protocol Elective 734
Notes:
This section is being reviewed by the IESG, which will recommend that
some of these protocols be moved to either the draft standard, or the
experimental or historic categories.
MIB-II -- This memo defines a mandatory extension to the base MIB
(RFC-1156) and is a Proposed Standard for the Internet community.
The extensions described here are currently Elective, but when they
become a standard, they will have the same status as RFC-1156, that
is, Recommended. The Internet Activities Board recommends that all
IP and TCP implementations be network manageable. This implies
implementation of the Internet MIB (RFC-1156 and the extensions in
RFC-xxxx) and at least one of the two recommended management
protocols SNMP (RFC-1157) or CMOT (RFC-1095).
PPP -- Point to Point Protocol is a method of sending IP over serial
lines, which are a type of physical network. It is expected that a
system will support one or more physical networks and for each
physical network supported the appropriate protocols from the
network-specific standard protocols (Section 6.3) must be supported.
That is, it is elective to support any particular type of physical
network, and for the physical networks actually supported it is
required that they be supported exactly according to the protocols
listed. It is anticipated that PPP will be advanced to the network-
specific standard protocol state in the future.
6.6. Experimental Protocols
Protocol Name Status RFC
======== ===================================== =============== ====
EHF-MAIL Encoding Header Field for Mail Elective 1154
DMF-MAIL Digest Message Format for Mail Elective 1153
RDP Reliable Data Protocol Limited Use 908,1151
-------- Mapping between X.400(88) and RFC-822 Elective 1148
TCP-ACO TCP Alternate Checksum Option Not Recommended 1146
-------- Mapping full 822 to Restricted 822 Elective 1137
BGP Border Gateway Protocol Limited Use 1105
IP-DVMRP IP Distance Vector Multicast Routing Not Recommended 1075
TCP-LDP TCP Extensions for Long Delay Paths Limited Use 1072
IMAP2 Interactive Mail Access Protocol Limited Use 1064
IP-MTU IP MTU Discovery Options Not Recommended 1063
VMTP Versatile Message Transaction Protocol Elective 1045
COOKIE-JAR Authentication Scheme Not Recommended 1004
NETBLT Bulk Data Transfer Protocol Not Recommended 998
IRTP Internet Reliable Transaction Protocol Not Recommended 938
AUTH Authentication Service Not Recommended 931
LDP Loader Debugger Protocol Not Recommended 909
ST Stream Protocol Limited Use IEN-119
NVP-II Network Voice Protocol Limited Use ISI-memo
PVP Packet Video Protocol Limited Use ISI-memo
6.7. Historic Protocols
Protocol Name Status RFC
======= ===================================== =============== ====
SGMP Simple Gateway Monitoring Protocol Not Recommended 1028
HEMS High Level Entity Management Protocol Not Recommended 1021
STATSRV Statistics Server Not Recommended 996
POP2 Post Office Protocol, Version 2 Not Recommended 937
RATP Reliable Asynchronous Transfer Protocol Not Recommended 916
THINWIRE Thinwire Protocol Not Recommended 914
HMP Host Monitoring Protocol Not Recommended 869
GGP Gateway Gateway Protocol Not Recommended 823
RTELNET Remote Telnet Service Not Recommended 818
CLOCK DCNET Time Server Protocol Not Recommended 778
MPM Internet Message Protocol Not Recommended 759
NETRJS Remote Job Service Not Recommended 740
NETED Network Standard Text Editor Not Recommended 569
RJE Remote Job Entry Not Recommended 407
XNET Cross Net Debugger Not Recommended IEN-158
NAMESERVER Host Name Server Protocol Not Recommended IEN-116
MUX Multiplexing Protocol Not Recommended IEN-90
GRAPHICS Graphics Protocol Not Recommended NIC-24308
7. Contacts
7.1. IAB, IETF, and IRTF Contacts
7.1.1. Internet Activities Board (IAB) Contact
Contact:
Bob Braden
Executive Director of the IAB
USC/Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
1-213-822-1511
Braden@ISI.EDU
Please send your comments about this list of protocols and especially
about the Draft Standard Protocols to the Internet Activities Board
care of Bob Braden, IAB Executive Director.
7.1.2. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Contact
Contact:
Phill Gross
Chair of the IETF
Corporation for National Research Initiatives (NRI)
1895 Preston White Drive, Suite 100
Reston, VA 22091
1-703-620-8990
PGross@NRI.RESTON.VA.US
7.1.3. Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) Contact
Contact:
David D. Clark
Chair of the IRTF
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Laboratory for Computer Science
545 Main Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
1-617-253-6003
ddc@LCS.MIT.EDU
7.2. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority Contact
Contact:
Joyce K. Reynolds
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
USC/Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
1-213-822-1511
IANA@ISI.EDU
The protocol standards are managed for the IAB by the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority.
Please refer to the documents "Assigned Numbers" (RFC-1060) and
"Official Internet Protocols" (RFC-1011) for further information
about the status of protocol documents. There are two documents that
summarize the requirements for host and gateways in the Internet,
"Host Requirements" (RFC-1122 and RFC-1123) and "Gateway
Requirements" (RFC-1009).
How to obtain the most recent edition of this "IAB Official
Protocol Standards" memo:
The file "in-notes/iab-standards.txt" may be copied via FTP
from the VENERA.ISI.EDU computer using the FTP username
"anonymous" and FTP password "guest".
7.3. Request for Comments Editor Contact
Contact:
Jon Postel
RFCEditor
USC/Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
1-213-822-1511
Postel@ISI.EDU
Documents may be submitted via electronic mail to the RFCEditor for
consideration for publication as RFC. If you are not familiar with
the format or style requirements please request the "Instructions for
RFCAuthors". In general, the style of any recent RFCmay be used as
a guide.
7.4. The Network Information Center and
Requests for Comments Distribution Contact
Contact:
DDN Network Information Center
SRI International
Room EJ291
333 Ravenswood Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025
1-800-235-3155
1-415-859-3695
NIC@NIC.DDN.MIL
The Network Information Center (NIC) provides many information
services for the Internet community. Among them is maintaining the
Requests for Comments (RFC) library.
RFCs can be obtained via FTP from NIC.DDN.MIL, with the pathname
RFC:RFCnnnn.TXT where "nnnn" refers to the number of the RFC. A list
of all RFCs may be obtained by copying the file RFC:RFC-INDEX.TXT.
Log in with FTP username ANONYMOUS and password GUEST.
The NIC also provides an automatic mail service for those sites which
cannot use FTP. Address the request to SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL and in
the subject field of the message indicate the file name, as in
"Subject: SEND RFC:RFCnnnn.TXT".
Some RFCs are now available in PostScript, these may be obtained from
the NIC in a similar fashion by substituting ".PS" for ".TXT".
How to obtain the most recent edition of this "IAB Official
Protocol Standards" memo:
The file RFC:IAB-STANDARDS.TXT may be copied via FTP from the
NIC.DDN.MIL computer following the same procedures used to
obtain RFCs.
7.5. Other Sources for Requests for Comments
7.5.1. NSF Network Service Center (NNSC)
NSF Network Service Center (NNSC)
BBN Laboratories, Inc.
10 Moulton St.
Cambridge, MA 02238
617-873-3400
NNSC@NNSC.NSF.NET
7.5.2. NSF Network Information Service (NIS)
NSF Network Information Service
Merit Computer Network
University of Michigan
1075 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
313-763-4897
INFO@NIS.NSF.NET
7.5.3. CSNET Coordination and Information Center (CIC)
CSNET Coordination and Information Center
BBN Systems and Technologies Corporation
10 Moulton Street
Cambridge, MA 02238
617-873-2777
INFO@SH.CS.NET
8. Security Considerations
Security issues are not addressed in this memo.
9. Author's Address
Jon Postel
USC/Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Phone: (213) 822-1511
Email: Postel@ISI.EDU
